Moncler : whiz to the top !

Moncler turned 70 this year, and it has been 19 years since Remo Ruffini bought it (I perfectly remember the talk of the town back then, and yes, this tells everything about my age).

Looking back, the history of the house is fascinating: everything started in a factory near Grenoble in 1952, which initially planned to produce sleeping bags and mountain tents. It took a French alpinist, Lionel Terray, to convince the owners to produce technical clothing, based on a French invention from 1930, the goose down jacket. Success was immediate among alpinists: the K2 Italian expedition in 1954, Terray’s Alaskan expedition in 1964 and the French Olympic ski team in 1968 were all equipped with the Moncler products.

?Something I did not know is that actually Moncler’s love affair with fashion is not something new! Chantal Thomass collaborated for 9 years with Moncler starting in 1980, introducing feminine cuts, the use of a shiny Nylon, and stressed buttons instead of zips. As a consequence, Moncler got big in Japan but also in Milan, with the Paninaro movement (check out the 1986 “Paninaro” song from Pet Shop Boys to see what I mean).

?But Remo Ruffini took the brand to unprecedented heights, thanks to a clear business vision, accompanied with flair for arty collaborations: Annie Leibovitz or Lio Bolin for art, Gianbattista Valli or Thom Browne, fashion, contributed to craft the new image of the brand. And what to think about the “Genius” collection launched in 2018, promising “one house, several voices”? (among which Pierpaolo Picciolo, J.W. Anderson, Craig Green…).

?The brand celebrated its 70th birthday with a giant take-over of the Piazza del Duomo in Milan last September, and several special collections and activations are scheduled throughout the next 6 months. But what remains fascinating is Ruffini’s ability to move the lines and see things differently. It pays: the brand posted a turnover exceeding €2bn last year!